Muslim
students and youth organisations in The Gambia have proposed to the
Constitutional Review Commission (CRC) to ensure featuring a clause in the new
constitution that would maintain the country’s non-Secularity, saying the
country should remain a sovereign state.

Contained
in a position paper by the Assembly of Gambia Muslim Youth (AGAMY) and nine
working groups of different national Muslim organisations in December, they
stated that secularization of the country will sharply go against the belief of
Muslims who constitute 96% of the population.

According
to the paper, secularity in the constitution will inadvertently limit and
restrict Muslims from expression of religious and cultural identities,
freedoms, belief systems and practices. “Gambia shall continue to be a
religious tolerance society, with respect for human rights, good and moral
values, cultural, religious and ethnic differences,” the paper states.

“Foreign-private
sector companies in this country such as schools, banks, hotels, and
restaurants are not allowing Muslim women to put on headscarves and proper Islamic
attire at work while Muslim men are not allowed to wear beards.”

Islamic
Courts

The
Muslim youth also stated that they are aware of the ongoing campaign to
disregard constitutional recognition of the existence of the Islamic Court
(Qadi) on the new constitution.

Gambia’s
current constitution recognises the Qadi Court which has jurisdiction over
family matters of marriage, divorce, and inheritance. “Even with this minimal
recognition, there are certain forces campaigning day and night, in the open
and in secret, to disenfranchise, undermine, and render the Qadi court system
powerless.”

They
asked for the extension of jurisdiction of the Qadi and development of its
hierarchical system, saying if The Gambia is truly democratic and respects
fundamental human rights of people, then the Qadi court will be liberated to
hear and determine cases, be it civil or criminal according to Sharia.

Child
marriage VS child dating

On
the issue of marriage, the Muslim groups said they expect the new law to define
the term as “a legal union only between a man and a woman of legal age and with
the full consent of both marrying parties.”

According
to their stance, it is equally wrong to allow engagement in extramarital sexual
activities, observing that it is not logical for the system to accommodate
activities such as child dating and teenage pregnancy while it bans child
marriage.